Great article. I wonder if seafloor mining is on the cusp of stronger government support. Back on May 1st SEC/EDGAR posted a 13G/A showing William George Brumder, an obscure independent investor from what I understand, taking a 5%+ stake in TMC. He's got equity warrants (exp in Sept I think) and is now considered an Activist Investor for the company. I checked out his public holdings (very, very few) and he also holds significant OMEX, Odyssey Marine Exploration. They just combined with AOM in a billion dollar merger to create the only American company preparing to mine the seafloor (TMC is Canadian). I think they are considering the continental shelf off the coast of Virginia, CCZ, and the Cook Islands. I know this is just one case but do you think investors are still playing the long game? What do you consider signs of major policy shifts on the horizon? Thanks!
"By His knowledge the deeps were broken up" Proverbs 3:20
This verse is referring to the beginning of Noah's Flood in Genesis 7:11 "...the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened."
No doubt the "fountains" included undersea volcanos, not just water ejected from earth's crust.
All kinds of minerals would have been brought up from deeper in the crust at that time.
It makes sense that undersea volcanos, sea mounts, and the whole 'ring of fire' will be a good source of minerals.
The nodules of loose rocks lying exposed over large areas of the seabed, "rich in manganese, nickel, cobalt and copper", may have been ejected into the sky when there was tremendous volcanic activity, and then rained down to sink back to the seabed like nuggets to be found today.
I will explain it tomorrow but basically there are metals particles from undersea volcanoes as you would call them that have been spewing into the sea for billions of years, they sink to the bottom and under the extreme pressure conditions of the deep sea form slowly into nodules usually on some kind of original nugget, they basically grow kind of like a crystal
I would disagree with the "billions of years" time frame (there's no way you could know that scientifically - it's not scientific because it's unfalsifiable and historically unrepeatable) but I am interested in your next post telling how the nodules are formed, since I know nothing about that and would like to know more.
I'll also admit my comment above includes a lot of speculation - of course it's based on my firm belief and starting point that the bible is true.
They typically contain a number of different metals and present metallurgical issues.
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What is the metallurgy of deep sea nodules?
The metallurgy of deep-sea polymetallic nodules revolves around extracting high-value transition metals—specifically manganese, nickel, copper, and cobalt—from a highly porous complex matrix of iron oxyhydroxides and manganese oxides. Because these potato-sized rocks contain multiple critical elements interlocked in an amorphous, fine-grained structure rather than distinct mineral grains, conventional physical separation (like flotation) is ineffective. Extractive metallurgy must instead rely on chemical destruction of the mineral matrix through advanced pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical pathways.
The Metals Company
+6
Manganese nodule - Wikipedia
Deep-ocean polymetallic nodules as a resource for critical ...
1. Chemical and Mineralogical Composition
To understand the extractive metallurgy, one must first look at the chemical composition. Nodules are characterized by high porosity (
to
) and a high water content trapped inside their micro-pores. The major chemical constituents typically fall into the following ranges:
Smithsonian Ocean
+2
Manganese (Mn): (primarily as Iron (Fe): (as amorphous ferrihydrite,
Nickel (Ni):
Copper (Cu):
Cobalt (Co):
Wikipedia
+4
The target battery metals (
) do not form their own distinct minerals. Instead, they are chemically trapped via adsorption or substituted inside the crystal lattices of the manganese and iron oxide layers. Consequently, metallurgical processing requires breaking down the primary
Drying and Calcination: Because nodules are highly porous and retain water, they are first dried and pre-heated in a rotary kiln using a reducing agent like coal.
Smelting: The calcined material is transferred to an electric arc furnace and smelted. By controlling the reduction potential, iron, nickel, copper, and cobalt are selectively reduced into a molten metallic alloy (matte), while the manganese remains oxidized and goes into the slag.
Output Split: This yields a Cu-Ni-Co-Fe alloy nugget and a manganese silicate slag. The manganese slag is highly sought after as a direct feedstock for the silicon-manganese alloy industry to make steel. The metallic alloy is then sent downstream to a hydrometallurgical refinery for final separation.
High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL): Nodules are treated with sulfuric acid at high temperatures and pressures to dissolve virtually all the metals into a pregnant leach solution (PLS).
Reduction Leaching (Ammoniacal/Cuprion Process): A historic and effective alternative is leaching the ore at low temperatures using an ammonia and ammonium carbonate solution in the presence of a reducing gas like carbon monoxide. The carbon monoxide reduces
to
, collapsing the crystal lattice and rendering the valuable
,
, and
highly soluble as amino complexes.
Separation: Once dissolved in the liquid phase, individual metals are systematically isolated using liquid ion exchange (solvent extraction), followed by electrowinning to produce high-purity copper cathodes, nickel sulfates, and cobalt precipitates.
) Moderate (requires lower heat but chemical reagents)
Manganese Recovery High; clean recovery as commercial slag Difficult; often left behind in massive leach residues
Solid Waste & Tailings Potentially near-zero; slag and alloy are entirely productized High risk of generating hazardous acid or ammonia residue streams
Reagent Requirements Minimal chemical reagents; relies heavily on carbon reductants Consumes massive volumes of sulfuric acid or ammonia gas
5. Emerging "Near-Zero Waste" Metallurgy
Traditional land-based mining creates billions of tons of toxic tailings. Because deep-sea nodules lack toxic levels of elements like arsenic or mercury, modern metallurgical consortia—such as The Metals Company—are optimizing flowsheets to yield near-zero solid waste. By pairing the pyrometallurgical split (capturing
of the manganese as slag) with specialized downstream hydrometallurgy, they aim to completely productize the entire nodule mass, leaving no tailings behind. Novel bio-hydrometallurgical techniques utilizing living bacteria to selectively dissolve and separate the base metals at ambient temperatures are also currently under development.
The Metals Company
+4
If you would like to explore this topic further, please let me know. I can provide details on the environmental impacts of processing plumes, the geochemistry of specific ocean zones like the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, or the economics of deep-sea mining vs. land-based mining.
Great article. I wonder if seafloor mining is on the cusp of stronger government support. Back on May 1st SEC/EDGAR posted a 13G/A showing William George Brumder, an obscure independent investor from what I understand, taking a 5%+ stake in TMC. He's got equity warrants (exp in Sept I think) and is now considered an Activist Investor for the company. I checked out his public holdings (very, very few) and he also holds significant OMEX, Odyssey Marine Exploration. They just combined with AOM in a billion dollar merger to create the only American company preparing to mine the seafloor (TMC is Canadian). I think they are considering the continental shelf off the coast of Virginia, CCZ, and the Cook Islands. I know this is just one case but do you think investors are still playing the long game? What do you consider signs of major policy shifts on the horizon? Thanks!
Sorry, *William George Brumder II
Inflation turns resources into mineable reserves.
"By His knowledge the deeps were broken up" Proverbs 3:20
This verse is referring to the beginning of Noah's Flood in Genesis 7:11 "...the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened."
No doubt the "fountains" included undersea volcanos, not just water ejected from earth's crust.
All kinds of minerals would have been brought up from deeper in the crust at that time.
It makes sense that undersea volcanos, sea mounts, and the whole 'ring of fire' will be a good source of minerals.
The nodules of loose rocks lying exposed over large areas of the seabed, "rich in manganese, nickel, cobalt and copper", may have been ejected into the sky when there was tremendous volcanic activity, and then rained down to sink back to the seabed like nuggets to be found today.
I will explain it tomorrow but basically there are metals particles from undersea volcanoes as you would call them that have been spewing into the sea for billions of years, they sink to the bottom and under the extreme pressure conditions of the deep sea form slowly into nodules usually on some kind of original nugget, they basically grow kind of like a crystal
I would disagree with the "billions of years" time frame (there's no way you could know that scientifically - it's not scientific because it's unfalsifiable and historically unrepeatable) but I am interested in your next post telling how the nodules are formed, since I know nothing about that and would like to know more.
I'll also admit my comment above includes a lot of speculation - of course it's based on my firm belief and starting point that the bible is true.
https://alchristie.substack.com/p/how-i-became-convinced-the-bible?utm_source=publication-search
No I am just saying that ocean vents have been spewing for billions of years the ages of the nodules is low millions I believe
They typically contain a number of different metals and present metallurgical issues.
AI says...
e
All
Images
Videos
News
More
What is the metallurgy of deep sea nodules?
The metallurgy of deep-sea polymetallic nodules revolves around extracting high-value transition metals—specifically manganese, nickel, copper, and cobalt—from a highly porous complex matrix of iron oxyhydroxides and manganese oxides. Because these potato-sized rocks contain multiple critical elements interlocked in an amorphous, fine-grained structure rather than distinct mineral grains, conventional physical separation (like flotation) is ineffective. Extractive metallurgy must instead rely on chemical destruction of the mineral matrix through advanced pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical pathways.
The Metals Company
+6
Manganese nodule - Wikipedia
Deep-ocean polymetallic nodules as a resource for critical ...
1. Chemical and Mineralogical Composition
To understand the extractive metallurgy, one must first look at the chemical composition. Nodules are characterized by high porosity (
to
) and a high water content trapped inside their micro-pores. The major chemical constituents typically fall into the following ranges:
Smithsonian Ocean
+2
Manganese (Mn): (primarily as Iron (Fe): (as amorphous ferrihydrite,
Nickel (Ni):
Copper (Cu):
Cobalt (Co):
Wikipedia
+4
The target battery metals (
) do not form their own distinct minerals. Instead, they are chemically trapped via adsorption or substituted inside the crystal lattices of the manganese and iron oxide layers. Consequently, metallurgical processing requires breaking down the primary
matrix to liberate the trapped elements.
ScienceDirect.com
+4
2. Pyrometallurgical Processing (Smelting Pathway)
The dominant high-temperature pathway adapts the terrestrial Rotary Kiln-Electric Arc Furnace (RKEF) process used in the nickel industry.
www.dierk-raabe.com
+1
Drying and Calcination: Because nodules are highly porous and retain water, they are first dried and pre-heated in a rotary kiln using a reducing agent like coal.
Smelting: The calcined material is transferred to an electric arc furnace and smelted. By controlling the reduction potential, iron, nickel, copper, and cobalt are selectively reduced into a molten metallic alloy (matte), while the manganese remains oxidized and goes into the slag.
Output Split: This yields a Cu-Ni-Co-Fe alloy nugget and a manganese silicate slag. The manganese slag is highly sought after as a direct feedstock for the silicon-manganese alloy industry to make steel. The metallic alloy is then sent downstream to a hydrometallurgical refinery for final separation.
Smithsonian Ocean
+3
3. Hydrometallurgical Processing (Leaching Pathway)
Hydrometallurgical pathways skip the high-temperature smelting step, instead dissolving the crushed raw nodules directly in chemical solutions.
ScienceDirect.com
+2
High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL): Nodules are treated with sulfuric acid at high temperatures and pressures to dissolve virtually all the metals into a pregnant leach solution (PLS).
Reduction Leaching (Ammoniacal/Cuprion Process): A historic and effective alternative is leaching the ore at low temperatures using an ammonia and ammonium carbonate solution in the presence of a reducing gas like carbon monoxide. The carbon monoxide reduces
to
, collapsing the crystal lattice and rendering the valuable
,
, and
highly soluble as amino complexes.
Separation: Once dissolved in the liquid phase, individual metals are systematically isolated using liquid ion exchange (solvent extraction), followed by electrowinning to produce high-purity copper cathodes, nickel sulfates, and cobalt precipitates.
International Seabed Authority
+4
4. Metallurgical Flowsheet Comparison
Processing Metric Pyrometallurgical Route (RKEF + Hydro) Hydrometallurgical Route (Direct Acid/Ammonia)
Energy Consumption Very high (requires melting at
) Moderate (requires lower heat but chemical reagents)
Manganese Recovery High; clean recovery as commercial slag Difficult; often left behind in massive leach residues
Solid Waste & Tailings Potentially near-zero; slag and alloy are entirely productized High risk of generating hazardous acid or ammonia residue streams
Reagent Requirements Minimal chemical reagents; relies heavily on carbon reductants Consumes massive volumes of sulfuric acid or ammonia gas
5. Emerging "Near-Zero Waste" Metallurgy
Traditional land-based mining creates billions of tons of toxic tailings. Because deep-sea nodules lack toxic levels of elements like arsenic or mercury, modern metallurgical consortia—such as The Metals Company—are optimizing flowsheets to yield near-zero solid waste. By pairing the pyrometallurgical split (capturing
of the manganese as slag) with specialized downstream hydrometallurgy, they aim to completely productize the entire nodule mass, leaving no tailings behind. Novel bio-hydrometallurgical techniques utilizing living bacteria to selectively dissolve and separate the base metals at ambient temperatures are also currently under development.
The Metals Company
+4
If you would like to explore this topic further, please let me know. I can provide details on the environmental impacts of processing plumes, the geochemistry of specific ocean zones like the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, or the economics of deep-sea mining vs. land-based mining.
USGS (.gov)
+3